The Acrobatic Show

As one of the traditional art forms, Chinese acrobatic show has long been popular among the Chinese people for more than 2,000 years. As early as the Warring States (476B.C.-221B.C.), there appeared rudiments of acrobatics. By the time of Han Dynasty, Chinese acrobatic show further developed both in content and form and there appeared superb performances with music accompaniment on the stage, such as pole climbing, role walking, and five tables, etc. In Tang Dynasty, the number of acrobats greatly increased and their performing skills gained much improvement. In Dunhuang Mural Paintings, there are images of Chinese acrobatic show. The ancient acrobatics came from people's daily life and labor. Tools like tridents and wicker and utilities like tables, chairs and bowl were widely used in performances. At festivals, people often performed flying trident, balance on chair, jar tricks, hoop diving, lion dance at the market places or in the street. In the long course of development, Chinese acrobatic show has formed its own style.